Yesterday was Valentine's Day and it was the best one I've had in years. Multiple deliveries of orange roses preceded spa treatments, a delicious lunch, a stroll in the sunshine along the water, lovely conversation and lots of laughter, and all followed by spending the rest of the day in bed with a bottle of champagne, and of course, two glasses. Watching the sunset blaze across the sky after such a day made the world seem almost perfect.

Almost....

I had terrible dreams last night--a better way to describe it perhaps is post-apocalyptic nightmares. The world had gone mad; I was helping to protect children from "bad men" with guns. The kids were safe with me, despite all kinds of threats and obstacles. The dream was so disturbingly vivid, I woke with a start before dawn. Within minutes of opening my eyes, I learned my nightmare was all-too real.

An artist-friend asked me today if the recent shooting was related to the number "18." The number "18" means life; it is a double-nine and a Master Number related to universal completion and wholeness through love and light, not darkness and death. But the number "14"--the date of the shooting-- is connected to karmic debt related to abuse, even murder.

Numbers, however, did not decide to kill people. Neither did guns. Only a human being can pull a trigger. Only a human being can decide to point a gun at another individual with the intent of taking their life. Because, it is only humans who suffer from mental illness. Mental illness is connected to abuse. A vicious cycle, it seems. One we cannot escape.

I've written about how we need to value all life if we, as a species, wish to stop the violence. It can NEVER be okay to kill any living creature. It can NEVER be okay to kill, period.

Until and unless we stop sustaining our lives on violence and death, we will not see peace. We will continue to see an escalation of violence, death and destruction. My post-apocalyptic nightmares have become a reality in the 21st century. Despite all the global wealth and globalized technological resources, we still place more value on some lives over others. Even human life.

Women are killed by male stalkers almost every day in the States. But, America isn't alone. The World Health Organization declared violence against women a pandemic. Did you "hear" that? "Pandemic" means it's a prevalent problem in EVERY country on our shared planet. A planet where more than half of the seven-billion occupants are female.

Nearly three-quarters of annual femicide in America is committed by a male stalker. Which makes sense with the other statistics on stalking from the Department of Justice--including 80% of female stalking victims being killed by their male stalker, 60% of whom reported the stalking to police within 12 months of the first incident. And in that 12-month period, those same victims also became jobless and homeless as a result of male predatory behavior. Violent behavior. Murderous behavior. Yet, the numbers increase each year. Why?

Women are not valued in the same way men are. If that's not clear from the unprecedented violence against women by men, it can easily be seen from the lack of parity in the workplace. We are not given the same job opportunities, promotional opportunities, and are not paid like men. Again, the proof is readily available, but if you want global numbers regarding the disparity, just look up the World Economic Forum in 2016. Women were paid billions less than men world-wide and accounted for 75% of the free labor. Men are the perpetrators of all the inequality between the sexes, essentially getting away with murder in more ways than one--nearly every day of every year. For centuries now.

When you look at the historical context of a predatory male-oriented society, is it really a shock to hear about yet another abusive male who terrorized and stalked his ex-girlfriend prior to committing that same level of violence, but against more than one person? This same boy had no regard for life at all--he often posted pictures on social media of killing and torturing animals.

Still think devaluing life is a good idea??? And, please don't say, "But meat is delicious." If you support violence and death of any kind, you're not as "good" of a person as you think you are--no matter how many times you go to church or throw a $20 in the basket.

ALL LIFE MATTERS. We must accept this as a society if we wish our society to move away from violence and death, and move toward peace, compassion and unconditional love. And, no, I'm not a "hippie, a "commie," or a "pinko." I don't even eat granola. I just have a brain, and, unlike most of my kind, I use it. Something I hope to inspire others to do as well. Even if I have to shame you into it.

Men need to step up or step off. Stop encouraging sons to devalue others. Start teaching them accountability. And, PROTECT women so we can protect our children. Don't leave us vulnerable to you and your fake "laws" against stalking when it's nearly impossible to make an arrest under said-laws--if that weren't true, there would be less women dying, not more. There's a reason they're called "women's shelters," and that reason is NOT that women are crazy-rabbit killers a la Hollywood. We are the ones being hunted and killed. No wonder Wonder Woman was such a hit in theatres. Finally, a woman who stood up to the tyranny of men. But, most of us are not Amazons. We don't have magical lassos or bullet-deflecting wrist-armor. We aren't gods either.

Women, arm yourselves! Get a carry-permit. It is the great equalizer against the increased muscle-mass of male-attackers. Waiting for men to change laws or step up is just plain stupid. I'm tired of reading about men killing women and children--aren't you??? Get a fucking gun and learn how to shoot it. At least you can defend yourselves and your children--even though the thought of taking life is abhorrent to those of us who have to practically destroy our bodies to create it. Do you know what I find more abhorrent though? The death of a child. You should, too.

Kids are dying. Not even on the streets. While innocently sitting in the classroom. It's time for all of us to grow up, so our children can, too.

Leave a Reply.

About the Author

Rebecca Housel, Ph.D., known as "The Pop Culture Professor" (TM), is an international best-selling author and editor in nine languages and 100 countries. Rebecca, listed in the Directory of American Poets & Writers for her work in nonfiction, was nominated by Prevention magazine essayist and best-selling author of The ImmortalLife of HenriettaLacks, Rebecca Skloot, to the National Association of Science Writers for her work on cancer. Rebecca has published with best-selling author of The Accidental Buddhist, Dinty Moore's literary nonfiction journal, Brevity, and with commercial publications like Redbook magazine and online journals like In Media Res. Her recent interviews appear in publications such as the LA Times, Esquire, USA TODAY, The Huffington Post, Inside HigherEd, Woman's World magazine, and Marie Claire as well as on FOX news, and NBC. Former President of the New York College English Association, Housel was a professor in both Atlanta and New York, teaching popular culture, film, creative writing, literature, and medical humanities. Dr. Housel currently works on the Editorial Advisory Boards for the Journal of PopularCulture and the Journal ofAmerican Culture; she has also worked as a reviewer for Syracuse University Press and Thomson Wadsworth. A writer of all genres, Housel has written and published both fiction and nonfiction in over ten books and 398 articles, essays, book chapters, book reviews, and encyclopedia entries.